In '12,' local authors tackle Tom Brady's sweet revenge

Wednesday

Sep 26, 2018 at 3:45 PMSep 26, 2018 at 3:46 PM

It was a comeback that legends are made of.

That is, if its architect wasn't the one called The Greatest of All Time.

Tom Brady leading the New England Patriots back from a seemingly insurmountable 28-3 deficit in the third quarter to an overtime victory in Super Bowl LI, the team and Brady's fifth title, is as well known and celebrated locally as the as the midnight ride of Paul Revere.

There was more than just the seemingly impossible odds on the field that Brady had to overcome that season. There was his well-known four-game suspension as punishment for his part of the Deflategate scandal to his more private struggle with his mother Galynn's battle with cancer.

Two local authors, Casey Sherman of Marshfield and Dave Wedge of Milton tell the on- and off-field story of that championship season in their new book "12: The Inside Story of Tom Brady's Fight for Redemption," published by Little, Brown and Company.

The book is Sherman and Wedge's third collaboration, with "Boston Strong" and "The Ice Bucket Challenge" their previous titles.

Brady was interviewed for the book, his first involvement with a book that didn't have his name on it. Also sharing their stories with the authors were other players on the team, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his son Jonathan as well as the quarterback's defenders from the National Football League's Players Association. Declining to talk to the authors was Roger Goodell, the imperious commissioner of the National Football League.

Sherman called the allegations of cheating by underinflating footballs "a minor traffic violation turned into a capital murder case, and Tom Brady was the prime suspect,"

He said the league "made it into something akin to the Black Sox scandal," where Chicago White Sox players were accused of conspiring to throw the 1919 World Series on behalf of gamblers.

The revelation from the book that has got the most attention was that Brady offered to pay a $1 million fine instead of serving a four-game suspension, but Goodell wanted the quarterback to pin the rap on two members of the team's equipment staff John Jastremski and Jim McNally. Brady refused, saying he didn't want to ruin the two men over something he didn't think they did. Goodell suspended Jastremski and McNally from the league "indefinitely."

The book gives readers a glimpse of the power politics behind the NFL shield. Sherman said Goodell was under pressure from other NFL owners to deal harshly with the Patriots on any perceived infraction, since they felt the commissioner was too way lenient in disciplining the team in the 2007 "Spygate" scandal.

Wedge said Deflategate was the result of "a sting operation to embarrass the Patriots and embarrass Tom Brady."

A long-time Patriots season ticket holder, Wedge said the book is about more than the scandal.

"This is a snapshot of the some of the pivotal eras of his life", Wedge said, referring to Brady.

One thing Wedge said he learned through his work on the book was how important family is to Brady.

"He's at an age where he realizes that's all that matters," Wedge said.

Sherman said readers will see another side of the football star.

"People are getting an idea of the vulnerability of Tom Brady," he said.

The book also has plenty of example's of Brady's competitive fire, and how the quarterback worked to rally the team in the locker room and on the sidelines to fuel the Super Bowl comeback.

While this off-season has shown some cracks in the triumvirate who built the Patriots Dynasty − Brady, Kraft and coach Bill Belichick − and this year's campaign is off to a disappointing 1-2 start , neither Sherman or Wedge are ready to count out the team or its quarterback just yet.

As for what's next for the authors, Sherman is at work on book – his 11th – on the late elephant conservationist Wayne Lotter with a working title "Elephant Savoir." A movie adaptation of "12" is also in development with Wedge and Sherman serving as executive producers.